Sunrise light on a grove of tufa towers emerging from the water of Mono Lake with soft green and dusty-red wild grasses in the foreground, Canada geese in the shallow water with reflections of the rocky towers, and desert hills in the distance.

Yosemite Valley to reopen on Tuesday, August 14

This post was written by Eric Bergdoll, 2018 Mono Lake Intern.

Yosemite Valley will be reopening to visitors on Tuesday, August 14 at 9:00am. The valley has been closed to visitors since July 25 due to the Ferguson Fire burning near the park.

Access to the valley will be available from the El Portal Road (Highway 140), the Big Oak Flat Road (Highway 120), or the Tioga Road (Highway 120).

The Mariposa Grove of giant sequoias will reopen on Monday, August 13 at 9:00am. Visitors will be able to access the Mariposa Grove via the South Entrance (Highway 41) and park in the newly constructed parking area.

The Mariposa Grove of giant sequoias reopened to visitors on June 14 after a three-year restoration project in partnership with the Yosemite Conservancy. Photo courtesy of nps.gov.

Although the South Entrance will be open in order to provide access to the Mariposa Grove and Wawona, there will be no access to Yosemite Valley via Highway 41.

The Hetch Hetchy Area also remains closed due to smoke but is expected to reopen soon. The Wawona Road (Highway 41) will remain closed from Wawona to Yosemite Valley for at least another week due to fire activity along this road. The Glacier Point Road also remains closed but is expected to open when the Wawona road opens.

There is still fire and smoke on the roads so travelers should use extreme caution in all areas previously affected by the Ferguson Fire. Delays are also possible due to fire activity and firefighter operations. Hours and visitor services will be limited at park facilities as the park returns to normal operations.

The Mono Lake Committee offers our sincere condolences to those who have been affected by this summer’s wildfire season, especially to the families and friends of the firefighters who have been injured or lost fighting these fires. We would also like to thank the firefighters and park personnel who worked tirelessly to reopen these areas.